Chestnut
by Tabitha of MoonAurora
Summary: Red John has struck again. Lisbon is dealing with the after math of her breakdown in CBI. At the same time, she must also deal with a vehement Jane, who's anger stems from his inability to work the Red John case. This is Post Red Badge and AU onward.
1. Preface

a/n- a coupled things to clarify.

The title- Chestnut refers to a color of coat in horses. Generally when horse people point it out in a field to non-horse people, they would say "do you see that red horse?" Also these "red" horses have no black markings on them. A blood bay is the color refered to for one of the horses in this chapter. This horse has the red body with black legs, mane and tail. A gray is a horse with black skin that appears white or gray. A gelding is an adult male horse that has been rendered incapable of reproducing. (Gelded). You'll have to excuse my schpeel here. I've been waiting to include horses in a fanfiction for a very long time. They are one of my favorite things.

Relationships- eh, Jisbon can I say much more. I don't know how far it will go though. This is set after Red Badge and includes the comments Jane *sigh* said about Bosco and the end *cringe*. It becomes evident that I care very little about Bosco.

Disclaimer- I don't own it and have no intention of ever procuring the rights to it. I am writing this because I am a paranoid schytzophrenic (spelling) and am certain that if I do not write the idea that has popped into my head, the aliens will come to get me and put me in a toxic gas chamber… Yeah got carried away there.

Scene 1

Preface

Rain poured down the hillside in streams. Some dark mud mixed with it but very little. The trees seemed to be weeping with happiness as the long drought came to an end. A fence lay at the edge of a field, its wood darkened by the heavy deluge of water from the heavens. A few sorry looking horses grazed in the rain, huddled together appearing miserable.

At the top of the hill a house stood elegantly, its windows pouring golden light across the grass to the barn that stood beside it. The house was surprisingly well cared for and beautiful for the location where it resided. It would not have been what one would have expected to find so far into the mountains. Though it was only three in the afternoon, it was dark as night the mid-October light aiding no help to the land. A trail led away from the house and the stable into the woods. Inside the barn there were to stalls empty and two sets of saddle and bridle missing.

The hooves of the horses sunk far into the sodden worn trail. The two girls whom they bore were making their way back to the Inn. The woods dripped on the two teenagers occasionally pouring water onto them as the leaves gave way to the weight.

"I should never have listened to you, Adelle! Look at me; I'm soaked through," a girl with hair that could have been brown or blonde complained loudly.

"It's not that bad," the other replied, seemingly not minding the dampness.

"Well I think it is! Wait until I tell Mom what you dragged me into," the first commented.

The other sister turned to her and glared, "Honestly, I don't mind this…" she stopped speaking as her house planted its hooves and snorted out a frightened breath, "Come on, Whisper! What now?"

The horse seemed disinclined to reply and stamped its hoof a few time before snorting again.

"Chelsea, there's something wrong!"

"He's a horse Adelle! He probably smelled something," Chelsea sounded annoyed, "Let's go; it's cold out."

With a stamping of hooves and a sudden squelch, the horses both horses bolted without warning. The gray Chelsea was riding tripped a ways up the trail and Chelsea's already unsteady balance deserted her. She was flung from his back and landed in a stream. The girl stumbled to her feet and screamed. The water that surrounded her was filled with blood and on a tree before her, well sheltered from the rain, was a crimson smiley face. Her gaze drifted and another scream tore from her throat. A woman lay on the undergrowth beneath the symbol on the tree, cuts and blood covering her body. Chelsea started to run and tripped. Her head hit a stone and she was aware of nothing else.

a/n- I think that this is the shortest chapter I have ever written. Ever. In my entire life. Rest assured the chapters do get longer. I will get back to my other fics but The Mentalist is currently holding my mind captive and won't let go. I am a slave to all the plots that occur to me. I am currently diligently working on chapters to two of my other fics. Bear with me, this might all take a while. Reviews are greatly, and I do mean greatly, appreciated.

Tabitha of MoonAurora


	2. Scene 2

Scene 2

Teresa Lisbon had known many men. In fact, in her line of work, it was almost entirely men. It seemed that all she'd done from the time of her mother's death was deal with men. Her brothers her brutal drunkard father… No, she couldn't think of that, it opened too much and she would not have herself crying late at night in her office about things that had happened over ten years previously. And then she'd gone to one of the best colleges of law she could get into on her limited funds, and it was mostly men. Then she'd started her job, first as a police officer, the only female one in the precinct, and even farther into her jobs with CBI. She worked with them, she knew how to control them, knew that they were easily intimidated if you knew the right buttons to push. Beyond that, even when she wasn't controlling them she was reading them. That was why she had been so surprised when Jane had said it. Why did he say it? What prompted him to make her life harder? She almost snorted at the question. It seemed that his entire job was to make her life harder.

"He's in love with you," that's what Jane had said after Bosco left her office. She had to admit, now that it had been pointed out, she had to agree. There was no other way to describe why Bosco was so odd and sensitive around her. He most certainly wasn't that way around other people. It fact he'd told Jane that he wouldn't tell him where the bathroom was if his ass was on fire. How could he possibly be in love with her and how could she have missed it? The thought was vaguely repulsive. He had once been her boss but she had risen every bit as quickly as he had and now they were on equal status. If she had to guess his age, she'd say he was in his mid-forties. She shuddered, and then pushed away these thoughts. They were better left for a different time.

It was one of those times that she wished she was alone at HQ. She was remembering what it was once like before Patrick Jane decided to live at the headquarters. He often slept there, in fact, in recent times it seemed the only time he left the building was to go with them on cases. Looking slightly to her left, out through a blind she always kept partially open, she could see the broken-down brown leather couch and the man lying on it from her office. It seemed clear to her that for once, Jane was doing exactly as he appeared to be. He was sleeping. With a sigh she put her elbows on either side of the paperwork and placed her head in her hands. It was too late to be thinking about anything.

In all honesty, she should have headed home two hours ago, gotten dressed in proper dating clothes and then gone out to dinner and make, what she now regarded in her generally sleep deprived state, useless chit-chat before being driven home the by hot paper copier guy. Really, she shouldn't have stood him up but she just didn't see the point. Actually, now that she was thinking about it, this would really be the first time she'd stood anyone up, granted she could not be considered as experienced as some in the world of dating. Sighing again, she lifted her head from her hands and brushed a strand of hair away from her face.

She almost always kept her door unlocked, for emergency purposes. There really wasn't a point to keeping it locked because people in the bull pen could hear your conversations anyway. She glanced back out through the blinds again and was only slightly surprised to see that Jane was awake and looking pensive. He was sitting on the couch, staring into space his elbows on his knees and his hand folded about his mouth and chin.

Teresa glanced over at the clock on the wall and gasped. It was a quarter past eleven, later than she'd thought. She looked out to the window to see rain sheeting down it.

"Damn!" she swore to herself.

She hadn't expected rain. The glass of the windows was like a river, making it impossible to see what exactly was on the outside in the city. With slow, deliberate motions, she stood, feeling her body's reluctance to move. She was tired, very tired, in fact, and she blamed Jane. Why did he give her input? Why did he have to mention things for her to dwell on? It was Jane though, that was Jane.

Teresa waved to him on her way out, her foolish mind allowing her to believe that she could make it out of the CBI building with just that.

"I thought you had a date tonight," his voice stopped her in her tracks. She supposed she should have expected him to know about it. Turning she saw he wore his boyish, self-satisfied smirk, the one he always wore when he knew he'd gotten under her skin.

"Where did you hear that?" she rebuffed, privately thinking she would put a bullet in the back of whoever told him's head.

"I didn't hear it from anyone," Jane replied and his grin widened, "I can read you mind remember"

"Jane."

"You're always very snippy when you have a date," he stated, assuming she'd want a full analysis of how he'd discerned that she was going on a date, "You either really like this guy or you're going on a pity date with him and regret it because you nearly bit Rigsby's head off when he suggested that we should have better food here. Of course it can't help that it's that time of the month either,"

"I… that's completely inappropriate!" she replied. She knew he'd sink low but usually not like this. It still surprised her how large the man's ego was.

"So which is it?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"Love or Pity?" Jane looked at her and innocent smile on his face. He seemed to be enjoying his interrogation of her immensely.

"Neither," she replied and glanced out the window again.

"Why didn't you go?" he asked as she turned to leave.

"Who said I didn't go?" she parried defensively.

"Well, you're either going on a really slutty late night date or you didn't go. Personally I don't find you a particularly slutty person so I'm going with the latter," he commentated, "Though, I could be wrong, which in that case I commend you at how well you act as though you are not."

She blinked. Jane was feeling particularly daring, it would seem, but some things could really push her buttons. She took a few long breathes and then responded.

"I was tired and didn't feel like it. Speaking of tired, I'm going home," she turned away from him again, "Night, Jane." She'd not made it three steps when he spoke again.

"Who's the guy?"

She stopped and turned slightly to look at him, "No of your business Jane."

"It isn't Bosco is it?" it was her turn to smile as she detected just the smallest hint of horror in his voice.

"You know what Jane? I think I'll just let you wonder," she turned back and walked out of the bullpen, "Good night, Jane." Her voice was meant to make it clear to him that anymore interruptions would merit less pleasant responses.

Her phone rang. And it rang. And it rang. Finally, deciding it wouldn't shut up unless she answered it. She reached over to where she usually kept it and found that it had vibrated onto the floor. With a yawn that turned into a groan, she reached down and picked it up.

"Agent Lisbon," she answered, her voice clearly groggy. 5:30 AM, read her clock. Teresa climbed out of bead and began to pull on her pants, "Alright, I'll be there in ten minutes."

She closed the phone and drew on her work shirt and jacket. She ran a brush through her hair and was on her way out to her car within minutes.

She didn't live too far from the HQ because she spent so much time there. She sighed as she hit yet another red light. Glancing at the clock on the radio caused her only to speed through traffic faster.

"Boss, we're going to need to get rooms somewhere near there. It's one we'll have to fly to,"

Teresa looked at Cho. As usual, his expression was unreadable and emotionless. Rigsby was eating and Van Pelt was sitting dutifully at her desk, though she noticed the other woman's attention was engaged on the aforementioned Rigsby more often than not. She looked around at the room before noticing Jane was not there. She gave it another searching glance just to ensure she hadn't missed him.

"He said he had to do something," Cho supplied.

"Who?" she pretended she hadn't been looking around for Jane, "Van Pelt, find something close to the area. Rigsby, for God's sake stop eating, and Cho, see is you can find us someplace in the area to work. I'm to speak with Minelli."

"Right, Boss," Van Pelt responded by immediately pulling out her computer.

"Sure thing," and Cho, too accessed his computer and telephone.

Teresa nodded inwardly and stalked off to Minelli's office. She pushed open the door and was surprised to she was not the only one to be called there. She ad assumed Jane had done something else he shouldn't have done.

"Lisbon, have a seat," Minelli gestured to the many vacant seats in the room.

She suddenly had a flashback of being sent to the principal's office in school.

"Alright, here's the deal," Minelli placed his hands on his desk and lean forward slightly, "It's been a month since I took Red John from you, Agent Lisbon, and gave it to you, Agent Bosco. I'm not going to go back on what I said, nor will I be making any permanent deals with anyone, however, Sam, you've made no more progress on the case than the rat that chewed the cord of my telephone this morning. I've assigned you to be superior agent on Lisbon's team for the duration of this homicide investigation. I'm sorry, Lisbon but this is how it has to be. You got way too far into Red John and I can't have that jeopardizing the integrity of the case," Minelli cut her off as she opened her mouth to argue with his decision, "This is a Red John case so there is one more condition, Lisbon. I know you and your team won't be happy with this but I can't risk all your lives. Jane is on a suspension until this investigation has been closed."

"Sir, we need Jane. You can't just take away a member of the unit," she was incensed and slightly upset at Minelli's clear disrespect for how she handled things, "and if Jane goes I go. You can't afford to do that."

"Teresa, don't you mean that you need Jane," it was the first time Bosco had spoken during the meeting and it only made her all the more angry at him.

"What are you saying Sam? That I'm lost without Jane? Are you insinuating that that is the case here?" she turned a blazing gaze on him.

"But isn't it true Teresa,"

"No! No it's not," she replied though she realized that it was a very hasty reply.

"This is not the point," Minelli cut over them, "Teresa, you're a good agent but you're too attached to the case, I'm sorry. Your willingness to try Jane's ideas is just too much of a liability when it comes to Red John. Accept the fact that you'll be short a team member."

"Boss I,"

"Accept it or I'll have you suspended. It may be a blow to the agency but you'll be on the streets in a month." Minelli argued.

She sat back in resignation. She could see his point, had to admit that he was right about her needing the job and then he was right about why he'd have to let her go, but the team couldn't lose Jane. Minelli started to speak again and she did something she hadn't done since she was in highschool: she tuned him out, internally fuming.

"Is that clear agent?"

Teresa realized she was addressing her.

"Yes, Sir," she replied, somewhat abruptly.

"Good, now, I've not told Jane that his services are not needed for this case. I'll leave it up to you to inform him, Lisbon. You have told me many times that he is your responsibility."

She stood and made her way out of the office wondering to herself how anything could have gotten so screwed up. And part of it all was her fault. She felt like kicking herself. Something closed over her upper arm and she jerked it in surprise and with the instinct that came from her many years as a cop

"Teresa," it was Bosco, "Minelli is only doing what he thinks is best for the unit and the agency. He means nothing against you."

"Bull Shit! That's easy for you to say, you benefit from his decision. You get to be my superior again. Congratulations boss, you must be feeling excellent right now," she turned away from him and continued on down the hallway back to the bullpen, only for him to catch her again.

"Teresa, I don't want to make you any angrier than you already are. Why don't we just sit down and talk about this like rational adults."

"Sam, I've just been demoted. I worked really hard to get to where I am. It's taken me ten years to get here. I'm sure that doesn't mean anything to you but I can't talk about this rationally; it's ridiculous!" She growled. Several people that passed them in the hallway looked at the pair in alarm.

"Teresa, Minelli's right. You are far too close to this case. It's time for you to let someone else steer the boat for a while. Settle down now or I'll have Minelli suspend you for insubordination."

"Go to Hell!"

"It's only for this case Teresa!"

"Go. To. Hell." She was beyond pissed and the longer he talked the less easy it was for her to remain calm. She knew she wouldn't have gotten so worked up if he hadn't kept the subject going for so long but it was impossible for her to not be furious now. She knew it was immature but she couldn't help it. She had indeed spent ten years to get to where she was and being demoted was not making her day any better.

Teresa made her way back to the bullpen quickly, leaving a stunned Bosco behind. She almost walked headlong into Jane. He stood there before her holding coffee and a doughnut.

"Jane I need to talk to you," she looked at him for a moment and then took the coffee and doughnut from him.

She walked to her office assuming her would follow and, sure enough, he did. She set the doughnut and the coffee on her desk and then sat down in her chair indicating Jane take the vacant one on the other side of the desk.

"I thought I'd bring doughnut as a reminder of our new case," Jane commented.

"Jane," she started and then stopped unsure of how to proceed. It was like telling some little kid you'd run over their dog. This case was so important to him, "Minelli wanted me to tell you that you're being suspended. He also told me not to tell you that we're working up in the mountains in a small town called Millet Springs," She looked purposefully at him, "You have to promise me you won't be out of my control. It's a Red John case. I have to be certain that you can handle it."

He nodded quietly. She stood and indicated that he was dismissed. He assumed a dejected expression, much to her amusement and left her office. Teresa looked down at her hand for a moment wondering what had prompted her to pull one of his stunts. She knew it was the reason Minelli had put Bosco in charge anyway. It was those little tricks she'd learned from Jane that were jeopardizing her career. She had to admit though, there was a certain thrill to flying under the radar.

Despit the act of defiance she'd just committed, she felt deflated. When she entered the bullpen, Van Pelt looked up.

"Alright, we have a new case as you all know. The local PD requested our unit specifically. This is the only reason we are actually on this case. Red John is the killer," the team shifted positions at the mention of Red John. She knew they all had been waiting for an opportunity to get back after the serial killer even if it was only for PR, "Agent Bosco will be leading the inverstigation and Jane has been dismissed," she had not expected quite the reaction that she'd gotten from the team. It became apparent that the team was very attached to Jane. She almost smiled at their shift in behavior, knowing that for a team being this close was good, but she didn't. Instead she added something to the statement, "temporarily."

They all seemed to sigh with relief. Bosco walked in at that moment and she approached him.

"This is Agent Bosco, as you probably all know. Bosco, this is Van Pelt, Rigsby, Cho and you know Jane," she gestured at the other people in the room straining to keep her voice even.

Bosco nodded to every member of the team excluding Jane and then turned to her.

"Teresa," he jerked his head in the direction of her, or rather, his office. Temporarily, she added in her mind. She followed him as he walked quickly to the small closed off space.

"What is Mr. Jane still doing here?" Bosco's finger tips were placed against the desk as he looked at her.

"He is just hanging around. The team is a family Bosco. They are all going to miss working with him. I found no reason to-"

"The CBI headquarter is not a place for civilians,"

"Jane isn't a-"

"He is a civilian, Teresa. He no longer has the right to use his CBI pass. It has been suspended. Therefore, he is a person who belongs to the rest of the world outside this building," Bosco cut her off as she was about to speak again, "Regardless of what you have to say on the manner. I want him out of here in fifteen minutes, before he gets to knowing too much like he's done before."

She looked at him for a moment debating whether she should argue further, "I'll have him out in a few minutes."

She left the office and made her way across the room. It was plain that she was irritated. It would be impossible for anyone not to notice the absolutely purposeful stride that showed she was angry. Jane looked up and smirked at her. In part of her, the irritation lessened, but in another it grew slightly, unbalancing her emotionally even more than she had been.

"Jane, Bosco wants you to go," her voice was completely calm as she spoke, more so than she would have thought she'd be able to manage.

"Meh," he replied going back to his books and boxes. Really that was the majority of what he had on his desk, books boxes and pencils. Why a grown man wanted to use pencils rather than pens she would never know.

"Now." She added to emphasize her point. He was being particularly infuriating. She almost regretted her decision to tell him where they were going to be working on the case.

She grabbed a stack of books and handed them to him, aiding in his packing. He didn't really have to take his things; he would be coming back, but she thought that maybe he was doing it for a reason. He put them in the box and then winked at her. Though she was angry, she could feel the heat beginning to fill her cheeks and looked away sighing. Not wishing for any more of his antics to catch her off-guard, she walked over to Van Pelt and inquired about the status of their flight.

The plane they took was a small fifty passenger plane that was able to land at smaller, more remote airports. Of course, that meant that they could get closer to their destination without driving. Millet Springs was very remote and now roads lead directly to it. It would very likely be late afternoon by the time they got to the crime scene, even though it had been called in early that morning.

Bosco seemed to have upset the teams equilibrium. Cho, sitting in the seat beside her was staring straight forward with his usual non-emotional gaze but she knew him better than that. Cho didn't normally get angry, but he was her friend and was sharing some of what she was feeling, for her sake. He'd probably never admit to it but he was. Van Pelt, though younger than the rest of them and so often more mature, despite her eagerness to please, was looking more like an angry teenager than Teresa would ever care to admit. She had the feeling that her anger had to do with the team on a whole though. Grace, of course, also seemed to be close to Jane but without any more than a friendly factor to it, like brother and sister.

"What in God's name does Minelli think he's doing?" the red-head suddenly blurted, "He took us off Red John. We'd all accepted that ship had sailed and now we're back on the case but without Jane?"

Teresa was giving the red-head her full attention now. Van Pelt was a smart, hard-working, and compassionate. She had all the mark of a good cop though occasionally her compassion lead to her being too forgiving but other than that she was a good agent. This angry side was one that she rarely showed and when it came out, it was possible to tell that she was extremely angry.

"It doesn't make sense," she continued, "and why make Bosco our boss. We would never have made any progress on Red John had it not been for you and Jane. No one worked harder on those cases than you two did."

"That's why Bosco's superior agent and I'm a subordinate for this case. Bosco has little to know attachment to the case in Minelli's eye, and Jane and I are in too deep. I let myself get far closer to this case than I should have. Minelli is right on that front. I see why he did this,"

"How can you be…" Grace looked at her aghast.

"I'm not saying I'm not pissed," Teresa replied, "I'm just saying I understand where he's coming from," she paused, "and besides, we'll have Jane with us anyway." Her voice had lowered. Bosco was sitting at different seat than they were, probably the smartest decision he'd made all day, but it would still be possible for him to overhear their conversation.

"What?" Rigsby seemed to come out of his peanut withdrawal, the flight attendant had refused to get him anymore, at the mention of the case and her comment about Jane.

"She sidestepped Minelli and Bosco," Grace answered, "It's obvious isn't it? He didn't look nearly as angry as he should have earlier."

"I could be suspended for it too so we'll have to keep Jane away from Bosco as much as possible."

"Alright Lisbon," the team responded.

They left the plane and collected their luggage, moving it to the cars. Or rather a van and a truck. The luggage was loaded into the respective cars as that people from the unit chose which they felt safer riding in. They were both police vehicles and possessed tinted glass and were dark. Teresa had chosen the truck, hinging on the fact that Bosco had decided to take the van. She'd never been a fan of Bosco's driving and was fairly certain that she and Cho would arrive far sooner than the other three agents. Though they were actually only twenty miles from Millet Springs, the drive took just over an hour because of the circuitous nature of the roads. There were many switchbacks as the elevation changed and she found herself counting trees as they drove past them. By the time, they'd made their way to the small country town where they would stay, she was more than ready to go to sleep. She knew this was impossible because of the work they still had left to do.

She looked at the hovel of a motel where they were staying wondering how they could possibly have chosen it. She was used to staying in places that weren't five star but this place clearly had zero or negative figures of rating. The siding was falling off and seemed to have been applied in no particular order to begin with. The windows appeared as though one good tap would break them into pieces and the doors appeared even less promising.

She pulled her luggage from the bed of the truck thinking that since it had been raining so much, placing her possessions in the bed of truck was not a good idea. They were wet.

She tossed the luggage into the poor excuse for a room sure she heard the sound of something scuttling somewhere in the room as she did so. She looked around for a moment noting that there seemed to be a large area of mildew on one wall, just looking at it made her sinuses fill, and that the bed looked like it had not been made since the previous occupants, or even the ones before, had slept in it. Though she had to admit that, by the way that the sheet were arranged she doubted sleeping was the last thing the old bed had witnessed. If this case continued any longer than a few days, she would be digging into her own, rather shallow, pocket to finance a stay at somewhere much nicer, and somewhat lacking in conspicuous stains.

Teresa left the room and walked back out into the parking lot. The other agents had arrived and it seemed Van Pelt had managed to coerce Rigsby into carrying her luggage to her room. Though she also had to consider the fact that there was a reasonable possibility he had offered. She also noticed that Grace seemed to have not heeded her warning about bringing too much luggage. A smile crossed her face though and she realized that there was a reason behind Minelli, calling her mother Teresa occasionally. The team, as she'd said many times that day, was her family and she was what told them what to do. Very much like a mother, she though.

Turning at the sound of muttering, she saw Cho emerging from the room adjacent to hers. He seemed to be scandalized by the place.

"I saw four rats in the bathroom, Boss,"

She turned to Grace whose face appeared terror stricken but even more disgusted.

"Well, we know you won't be taking a shower any time soon," Cho remarked.

"Van Pelt, is this all the better we could get?" she asked.

"The best I could get on such short notice. This place rents by the night," Grace replied.

"I could tell," she glanced distastefully back at her room for a moment and then back at the other woman.

"I could get us a place at the Inn for a while if this case drags out, but it would technically be against regulations to stay there," the red-head continued, "not to mention it would be dangerous."

"Screw regulations. I'm not staying this dump for more than a few days," she commented dryly.

"Agreed." Rigsby commented.

Grace took a few steps closer and leaned forward to whisper, "When's Jane getting here?"

"I don't know. I explained to him that he should call me when he arrives but I highly doubt he will," she replied, and as if on queue, he phone began to ring and vibrate.

"Agent Lisbon," she answered.

"_Hey, Lisbon, these crime scene guys are creepy. They all want the body… like vampires or hyenas. You should probably hurry up before they take it from the crime scene." Jane's voice came through the phone and into her ear._

"We'll be there in a bit J-," she stopped herself from saying his name, "try to keep them busy."

"_Do like I've been doing," Jane replied._

"See you soon, Honey," she answered noticing Bosco moving toward them.

"_Did you just-" _

Whatever he'd been about to say was lost as she snapped her phone shut. Van Pelt wore a questioning look and Rigsby looked, stereotypically confused. Cho had one eyebrow ever so slightly raise. She gave the smallest of jerks with her head toward Bosco and each of their eyes flickered momentarily to him. They assumed more normal expressions and appeared only to have been waiting for him.

"Are you ready, Teresa," Bosco addressed her and then climbed into the truck.

She nodded without a word and then climbed into the passenger side. Their trip to the Inn was silent as the grave and as uncomfortable as a silence could be. Teresa found herself longing for a long drive with Jane where he'd engage her in witty banter for hours. Annoying witty banter but she could suppose it was better than this.

By the time the team reached their destination, it had begun to rain in earnest. The Inn looked sodden and dreary and the gravel drive had many muddy potholes that needed to be filled. Teresa observed that there were horses in the pasture beside the drive. One even looked like a larger version of the pony Jane had gotten her for her birthday. She had to work hard not to smile at that moment because she remembered having taken the pony to her brother's to keep there. She remembered putting her young niece on the pony.

They parked between the barn and the house. The people who were staying at the inn were walking from the barn to the house. She and Bosco made their way up to the inn and through the front door. A teenage girl, probably seventeen, stood at the desk chewing a piece of gum and looking as disinterested as she could possibly be. The brown haired teen looked up as they approached.

"Do you have a reservation?" she asked, her voice a bored monotone.

"California Bureau of Investigation. We're here to investigate a murder that took place on the premises last night," she pulled out her badge and held it up.

"Oh, right," the girl didn't seemed to change her demeanor much, but she turned and beckoned for them to follow, "Police chief wants to talk to you."

Teresa fell back with the rest of the unit. She didn't want to walk with Bosco. The rest fell back again, probably subconsciously thinking they should be behind her. Routine was something followed closely at HQ and most subject to it, were well used to never varying. She relax regardless. The only person who ever walked beside her was Jane, always Jane. Because he was too arrogant to find anything wrong with it. She was almost to the room and, had she not been thinking she would have noticed it before, an arm shot out and pulled her into an empty room.

"Let go of… Jane," she felt annoyance wash over her. She'd not expected him to arrive until the following day, "How did you get here so fast?"

"I left an hour before you did and then took a little plane into a local airport," he grinned widely at her, "there was a car dealer in the town who let me rent a car and I drove on up. The local PD is very cooperative. I told them you sent someone ahead to assess the situation and they took me straight to the crime scene."

"Jane!" she looked at him exasperation plain. Her voice was barely more than a whisper, "You can't be doing things like that. We made a deal; you do what I say you can do and nothing else."

"I bent the rule. Besides, when have I ever paid attention to you?" Jane was in a reckless mood today and she knew it was because of Red John.

"Pay attention to me for once Jane!" she hissed her voice barely staying in whisper range, "I'll call Minelli and tell him you used police computers to hack into the system and find out where we were going. Then you'll be out of CBI for good."

"You won't do that Lisbon; you like me too much,"

"Don't bet on it," she snapped.

He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes looking away. She was trying to keep a smile off her face because the things that he was saying and doing were very far out of line.

"I'd be willing to bet all of my money on it,"

"Bite me!" she replied sarcastically.

For a moment she saw something flick through his eyes and it comprehended in her mind that he might actually oblige. He stepped forward and she stopped him, slamming an open hand into his stomach. He backed up still grinning. Teresa had not known him to be so forward, not in this sense anyway and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She was almost certain she found it funny, but she also found it mildly alarming that he was reacting towards her this way.

"I didn't actually mean it,"

"You told me to do what you said," he replied.

"I remember what I said but then I was assuming you would act like an adult. My mistake," she hissed.

"That hurts; you hurt me," he commented, his face assuming the puppy dog look it got when he was trying to get her to do something for him, or bend the rules, "So do you want to see the crime scene?"

"I have to speak to the police chief, Jane. Unlike you I need this job to support my lively-hood. If I don't do it right I'll be fired; I can't afford to be fired which means I can't be going on any of your schemes and you can't be doing them."

"Eh, you'll be alright. We still haven't crossed the line so I think we're safe,"

"Jane, we've crossed the line that Minelli made so many times I'm surprised we're not out on our asses right now," she countered, "I pulled so many strings getting you here and I've dug myself into a very deep hole Jane. I need you to work with me, and respect my decisions and orders. If Bosco gets wind that you're here…"

"Oh believe me, he has,"

Teresa turned to face him. Bosco stood in the doorway, emotionless. She could see that he was disappointed and hurt from his stance and wondered how it would possibly feel to be him. Then again, she couldn't spend too much time dwelling on that. She was still angry at him. It may have been childish for her to get mad but she was.

"I'm not as stupid as you seem to think I am, Teresa," he looked at her, his dog like eyes staring at her, "Did you really think I wouldn't notice you'd gone missing and come to look for you?"

She held his gaze, never willing to back down. He looked so sad, so tired that she wondered whether she had thought him stupid. She didn't answer but continued to hold his gaze as he stepped closer, still looking disappointed.

"The question is, what am I going to do with you? Now that I realize he's here I wonder whether to two of you a able to separate for more than twelve hours," Bosco looked at her dolefully.

"Sam!" she felt a new wave of anger and shock envelope her. Why she was so emotional that day she could not have been able to say.

"This is clear," he replied, "It couldn't be more obvious," he was lecturing her as though she was a teenager, "We might as well get the truth out on the table now before it all rolls out in unexpected consequences. Are you sleeping with him or not Teresa?"

Teresa Lisbon would have choked had she been eating something. She could feel her throat constrict with her sharp intake of breath and felt a strong surge of fury at his blatant breach of person privacy within the team. That coupled with the fact that she felt like a pregnant teen being lectured by her father at the moment, made her want to slap him or cause him some other form of physical harm, something that would leave a mark. She forced herself to remain calm and then spoke.

"No, Sam, I am not sleeping with Jane," she growled.

Bosco looked at her as though her didn't quite believe her but continued on his thought process.

"I can either fire you both right now, or I can let you stay on the team under advisement. The law says I should do the former and I am quite tempted at this moment, but out of respect for our friendship, Teresa, I will allow you both to stay here. This will be the last time I do this. Any more stunt from either of you and I will have you both playing a harmonica on a street corner for money."

She stared at him for a moment longer and then nodded, "Yes, boss."

"Now, I want you to take Jane to the crime scene. Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt will remain here and help canvas the Inn. I'm going to talk to return to the police chief and explain that his team needs to be less guilible," clearly now he was pissed.

She nodded again and made her way out of the room feeling beaten.

a/n- there's actually more to that chapter but I'm going to cut it there. It's a lot harder to write a TV fic than it looks. I hope this does the characters justice and I look forward to your reviews. Absolutely love them. I will reply to all of them.

Tabitha


	3. Scene 3

Scene 3

Teresa made her way out of the inn and out into the driveway. Several police were gathered in a ring next to a cruiser she thought looked as though it had been new during the seventies. They approached the circle of local cops and she cleared her throat.

"Hello," one of the police greeted, "And what can I do for you, little lady?"

She raised an eyebrow at the statement and at the same moment caught a glimpse of Jane's face.

"Agent Teresa Lisbon, CBI," the man's face grew slightly red and he coughed; the other police looked amused, "I'm here because the department requested my unit."

"My apologies, agent," the man stepped forward and offered a hand, "Sheriff Dandriche."

"Patrick Jane," Jane stepped up and seized the man's hand shaking it vigorously. The Shreiff looked more than slightly perturbed.

"We need to see the crime scene, if you would show us the way." She stated, an air of command about her.

"Well you'll need us to do more than show you the way. That body's about twenty miles down that ridin' trail over there. You'd be walkin' for hours," the man pointed, "Luckily, we got our vehicles with us today so there shouldn't she too much of a problem. It'll take us about half an hour though."

Teresa looked and noticed with trepidation that the vehicles he had mentioned were the horses from the stable. She licked her lips but saw that Jane's expression was filled with delight. He walked up behind her and placed a hand on her back.

"Jane, what are you doing?" she groaned wondering why he was so himself with a Red John case.

"I'm helping you pick out a horse," he stopped in front of one of the police horses, "That one."

She looked at it and shook her head, "He's huge." Her tone was incredulous.

"Well, he's already saddled and all you'll need is a leg up," Jane was extremely calm about it all.

"And duct tape," she commented sarcastically, "Jane I'm not against riding a horse but I can't…"

Her throat was tight as the consultant stepped behind her and place one of her hands on the front of the saddle and the other on the back. Then he bent down and before she had realized what he was doing, lifted her onto the horse. Instinctively, she flung her leg over to straddle it. Glancing around she saw that the other police looked amused at this.

"Hold on to these," Jane handed her the reins, "and wait for me to get on."

"What?" she asked suddenly. Then another horse walked up beside hers, Jane seated on the saddle.

Teresa took note that he looked quite comfortable. She raised an eyebrow at him again. The other police were getting on as well and the gravel crunched all around them. She felt extremely out of place among these obviously experienced riders. She should have known Jane would be a horse person, it suited his personality quite nicely. Jane grinned, a wide, white, toothy grin, at her and she rolled her eyes. This was going to be a nightmare.

She watched him and copied his movements attempting to find the perfect place to seat herself and put her legs. The tall, dark horse she was on snorted in what she thought was a mocking tone. This was ridiculous; she was giving the horse a personality. Jane pushed his horse over toward her and grabbed her hands.

"Relax, it's like riding a bike," he commented.

"A bike, really?" she asked sarcastically though, despite herself she could not keep a small ounce of fear out of her voice.

This seemed to only fuel his internal, slightly more than just boyish, mocking of her. Though now that he was this close she noticed he seemed genuinely amused rather than mocking, and he also seemed, if possible, a little bit caring. He grabbed the reins in one hand and lifted them gently from her hand.

"Just like riding a bike. Once you get used to it, all you have to do is get the muscles to do it. It'll be easier for you to use two reins," he commented, "Do these horses know direct reining?"

The police chief answered in the affirmative and Lisbon raised an eyebrow at Jane as he turned back around.

"Direct reining?" she asked, using this to fuel her own amusement and hide her nervousness.

"A fancy word for using two reins to steer," he answered while threading the reins the proper way through her hands, "Now, Lisbon, make sure you keep your hands closed and your thumbs upward."

"Wow, Jane, I didn't know you were such a horse enthusiast,"

"I worked with a carnival. You learn things," he answered brushing off her teasing, "Now keep your heels down or you'll fall off."

She smile lightheartedly back at her consultant for a moment and then did as he told her. The police began to move away from the parking lot toward the barn and around the side. Jane waited a bit and then leaned over to whisper in her ear. Teresa drew away for a second but he managed to reach her anyway.

"Every girl loves horses Lisbon; you can't tell me you never had the dream of owning a white horse," he drew away, "Now let's see if we can unleash that inner cowgirl, shall we?"

She was just wondering what he meant when he swung his leg out and gave her horse a sharp kick in the side. Seconds later, with all dignity gone, she was holding the horn of the saddle as her horse seemed all too happy to run away with her on its back.

Teresa glared at Jane as he chuckled lightly to himself. She was still embarrassed, still blushing slightly, a fact Jane seemed to find even more amusing, and was trying to do her job as professionally as possible. It didn't help that some of the police men seemed to find the circumstances as entertaining, if not more so, than Jane. The ME gave her a pair of gloves from a saddle bag and she crossed her arms over her chest moving into the circle of police. Her blonde consultant stood back and observed with a bit more trepidation and calculations than usual.

She pursed her lips in disgust at the scene; blood-filled rain puddles surrounded the body of the woman lying on the ground before them. Her face was chalky white, her pale blonde hair actually darker than the color of her skin. The woman was covered in cuts in the same style as those of Red John. They were always about four of five inches long, as deep as the blade of the knife he'd used and ragged. The same every time. She shuddered partially at herself for the memory she had for the case, the disturbing nature of the scene, and partially against the cooling damp air. A thought struck her and she stepped forward, ahead of the other police and looked around. It might have been a copy-cat, she had yet to see a red smiley face, but as she knelt to the ground and pushed the leaves back around the woman's feet she knew they were dealing with the same man who had now killed seventeen victims without being caught. The woman's toe nails were scarlet with her own blood.

Teresa bowed her head for a moment, taking in the grotesque discovery with the amount of sadness and regret that was due. She was interrupted. She looked up and saw on the tree before her, the blood red face, the calling card of Red John. She would not have seen it if she had not heard Jane's first call and looked around abruptly.

"Lisbon!" Jane's voice was urgent and attention grabbing, slightly triumphant and grim.

She stood and made her way quickly through the circle of the local police toward him. At first she didn't see him and then the spotted him several yards down the stream. As she made her way down to the man she, regretfully, called her colleague, she noticed just how fast the creek she was walking along was moving. Anything that fell into it would be easily swept away. Her step was quickly though she was slightly hesitant to see what he'd found.

"What is it Jane?" her voice was calm, quiet and collected if not to level.

"Out there in the water, by that rock," he pointed his face grim and set, too serious for his usual boyish attitude. She recognized the beginning of his behavioral change when a Red John case came to a point in his mind and it fully sunk in that he was dealing with another chance for revenge.

Teresa looked out over the water searching for something suspicious that might have drawn his attention, "Jane, I don't see anyth…" she trailed off having spotted something that looked suspiciously like a hand floating on the surface of the water, "Oh my God," she breathed, "Hey, somebody get over here! There's another body!"

The usual sickness she experienced at finding another body was greater than she'd expected as they pulled a girl out of the water. To her surprise, Jane placed a hand between her shoulder blades as she swallowed. It didn't matter how many times she saw bodies, it never changed.

She looked up and around at the police around them. Most were staring grimly down at the girl but one seemed to be in shock. His face was pale and his mouth slightly open. Jane seemed to notice this too. He stepped forward and pointed at the young policeman.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Chelsea Cramer," then the young man lurched forward and threw up.

Teresa jumped back but not fast enough. Internally she swore as she found herself partially covered in the police officer's stomach contents. She swallowed hard and forced herself to ignore the disgustingness of the situation and finish the questioning quickly.

"Why don't you go over with the horses, Frank?" the Sherriff patted the sick officer on the back as the boy moved past him, obliging readily.

"He knew her well?" Jane asked pointing vaguely toward the officer he was addressing.

"Yes, she was his tutor up until her graduation. Bright girl and always patient. Helped Frank get his diploma, she did," the man answered with a smile.

"Would there be any one that would want to kill her? Someone she didn't like or was maybe enemies with," Teresa stepped forward.

"Not miss, Cramer," the officer stated, "I know it sounds cliché, but she was a model student; Everybody loved her. She was quiet and stayed out of trouble, she was always doing something to help someone, even if they just needed a couple bucks for a soda."

"I'm glad that she was so well liked, but we don't need too much of a testimony for her seeing as she wasn't murdered," Jane interjected, his voice a tone that clearly stated this was obvious.

"Oh really, Jane? Can you prove that, or are you just trying to get us focused on the Red John case?" Teresa regretted the words the minute they left her mouth. Her lips became a thin line as she watched Jane's face transform from his previously smug look to his present dark expression.

"Well it is obvious that she was not murdered, Lisbon," Jane turned to the officer and took the pen from his pocket, walking toward the girl's body. He gestured toward the crowd so that they would follow, "If you look at her hands, you can see that they are stronger than most, as are her lower arm muscles," he traced the outlines of each muscle, "Also, if you look at her feet you can see that she is wearing boots, that if I'm not mistaken, have manure on them," he paused and looked up at the officers, "Did anyone find a horse without a rider during the night or this morning?"

"Yes sir, Mr. Echid brought a horse up to the station this morning claiming he found it on his property grazing when he got up. Honestly, we thought he was a bit off his rocker, seein' as he's a notorious drunk and a bit crazy already. We figur'd he had just been up to the Inn and took the horse. He's always doing things like that and then comin' to us like he doesn't know he's done it."

Jane looked at her with an expression of knowing over his features.

"She rode horses," he stated and then pointed at the back of her head which was showing slightly, "That was not a killing blow I bet, but it probably would have knocked her out. It looks as though she hit a rock or some other blunt object. She fell. Did it rain a lot last night?"

"Jane, just get to the point," she was getting impatient. Teresa ran her hand through her hair to keep herself from crossing her arms over her chest.

"She was thrown into the creek when the horse bolted because it smelled the blood of our Red John victim, who was probably already dead." Abruptly he began to walk back up the path, hands in his pockets.

Teresa nodded to the other policemen, "I hate to say it, but most of the time he's right about these things." She threw a glance over her shoulder at Jane and then turn back to the locals, "I think we have everything we'll need. Thank you for cooperating with us so easily. Most local police departments put up quite a fuss when we come in to help."

"You won't find much argument from me." Sheriff Dandriche raised his hands, "I find any amount of assistance you can give us a God-send. We really don't have the equipment to run a murder investigation here, Agent."

She nodded, "Then I'm glad we can assist. There will be another agent and his team taking over this case. Due to past events, my team was removed from it. We were only sent here to confirm that it was Red John. Agent Samuel Bosco will be out this afternoon with his team to take the case. He'll be everybit as helpful as we would have been"

The Sheriff nodded, "That's a shame, Agent. You seem to be on top of this."

"I assure you, Sheriff, Agent Bosco and his team are just as well informed about the case as my team is."

Lisbon gave him a withering smile and then turned away. She followed the receding image of Jane, her brow furrowed at his actual compliance to her command without comment. A part of her felt was sinking, her heart pressing down on her stomach as she recognized the intense, angry Jane that came with new Red John murders. Walking a bit faster she extended a hand as he had done so many times for her and laid it against his arm. Jane turned toward her and she could see the damage five years of chasing his family's killer had done to him. For a moment he looked as though he was going to say something but then he seemed to change his mind and turned his attention to the muddy path, pointing.

"There," Jane knelt and she crouched next to him.

"What?" She asked, applying her own focus to his seemingly useless spot on the ground, "I don't see… Oh."

A deep indent was laid into the ground, curved and heavily impacted into the dirt. She looked to her left and saw that there were similar marks along the ground leading back on the trail though none so deep as this one. There were a few skids as well, she noticed, as though whatever had made them had slipped in the mud on the path.

"This is where Chelsea's horse threw her." Jane stood and walked back along the trail a bit, "She landed here, he pointed to a bush that was broken down and then knelt to pick up what looked like a broken stick, "She was carrying a crop." He paused and looked around, down toward the creek. His face grew somber and he pointed, "She was alright when she stood, but then she saw the body,"

Lisbon followed his finger and saw that from this place, the first thing you saw was the crimson smiley face. She felt her own stomach clench as she realized what the girl must have felt when she came across this the day previously. The rain puddles filled with blood would have been one of the first things anyone notice.

"She probably ran when she saw it," he proposed and walk around a bit as though searching for something, "Ah! She tripped here, and hit her head off of that rock," he pointed and surely enough the rock bore a suspicious red stain across its face, "The creek was a bit higher last night," he pointed to the bent plants and rocks that had been left by the meander, "When she was knocked out, she rolled into the water and was drowned."

The senior agent couldn't help but noticed the deadly calm of his voice as he annotated his findings to her. The way he spoke, with such an air of ease, disturbed her in ways she could not explain. It was almost as though he took pleasure in being able to tell other exactly how someone died. This was the curse that Red John brought on her team, she supposed, but it would soon become irrelevant to her. Red John was no longer her case. It belonged to Bosco and she would have to deal with the fallout from Jane's anger. He did not like having something taken from him.

It was his case, she knew he thought that way and to a certain extent, she did too. It had been the beginning of her career afterall, the reason the CBI had taken her on to lead the Serious Crimes Unit without any prior work at the CBI. Jane of course knew she had made great strides with the case when she was merely a detective in San Francisco. She had come as close as anyone ever had to catching him, only to find their informant dead when she went to speak with him. The next day, she was transferred to the CBI on request of the director himself. She'd brought the case with her and several weeks later, was surprised when Jane showed up at the door of her office, saying he was to be her team's consultant. Her only team member that had been there longer than he had been was Cho.

She shook her head, coming out of her reverie, "Sheriff," she called, and then continued when she got his attention, "We've got some blood over here," she gestured at the rock, "It probably belongs to our second body. Someone should take a sample and test it for a match. Mr. Jane and I are going to head back to the Inn and call HQ. We'll wait with you and help with what we can while Bosco's team is on the way."

Turning away, she followed Jane's brooding movements back to the horses. They mounted and though it was a relief to Lisbon that there would be no wild ride back to the Inn, she had mixed feelings about the next steps she would be forced to take. She watched as Jane absently sent his horse into a trot and then copied him, hoping the cue would work. Thankfully, it did and she followed Jane up the riding trail that suddenly seemed much longer and much colder than it had during the first time down it. The next half hour was spent in oppressive silence.

a/n- Well, because I had a serious hankering to play with Jane, Lisbon, horses and Red John, I am back from my incredibly long hiatus on Chestnut. I apologize to everyone who has like it thus far and I sincerely hope that my writing has improved somewhat since the beginning of the story. I'm aiming for between ten to fifteen chapters. And yes, this is adjacent to early season 2 and AU from Red Badge on out. Reviews are always appreiciated.

Wotcher,

Tabitha


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